Leviathan the Au
by Sturmtrooper
Summary: Deryn Sharp has a hidden secret: Being a girl! But complications arise after an incident on-board. Set after Behemoth. Time difference and Volger and Dr Barlow only have suspicions of her secret but haven't figured it out. Rated T for blood and Yuri
1. Chapter 1

**_Message lizard._**

It was in the dark of the night and Deryn only had a lamp to guide her through the shadowed maze of corridors of the _Leviathan_. For a while now, she has kept her identity a secret from the British Air Service, from the crew, from Dr Barlow and from the hitchhiking Clankers. Especially Alek. She had given him all but two of her secrets, ones that she would never reveal. The first was that she was a girl and not some airboy. He revealed his royal secret to her and she kept it a secret until he spilled it in Constantinople. She never told him her secret though she had dozens of opportunities which she all blew because she was afraid that he might be furious with her since he gave her every last one of his secrets.

Another secret was that she was in love with the prince. Yet she was powerless about it as she was a mere commoner and he was royalty; it would never work out. Of course that would also reveal she was a girl. Everything seemed centred around that secret. After a long self-deliberation, she decided she would tell him that she was not Dylan Sharp, but Deryn Sharp. She would talk to him in the confines of his room, convince him to not be angry, and perhaps confess her love and hope for the best. That last one needed working on.

As she walked along, she bumped into the person she wanted to see: Aleksander of Hohenberg. She was startled to see him and he was startled to see her yet relieved. "Dylan. Listen, I have to talk to you about something." Glancing around to make sure no one could see them he gestured into a doorway. "In here."

Deryn was confused as to what Alek would want to talk to her about. Is it about boy-things? She would struggle to keep up the façade that she had built to stay in the Air Service. They entered the room but the lamp-light was not strong enough to illuminate the whole room. They could make out brass and copper pipes but that was it. Deryn put the lamp on an empty shelf. Turning to face her, Alek drew a deep breath and exhaled. "Dylan, I haven't told you all of my secrets. There is one more which Volger swore me to secrecy. No one else other than my companions and you must know about this." Was it just her or was the young, runaway prince's voice getting a little squeaky? He bit his lip and blurted out. "I'magirl!"

Deryn was perplexed. "What?"

Alek shuffled her feet. "I am a girl. I wanted to tell you but I was worried that we might not be friends anymore. You, you're a dashing airman and I am a girl. It would feel awkward if you were close to me, knowing my gender."

Deryn looked at her friend. Only now did she see feminine featured that were covered up by grease, oil and the way Alek's hair was styled. It was a near equivalent to her own. "Barking spiders. Why didn't you anyone?"

"My father told me to hide my identity should I ever need to go into hiding. That way, if anyone comes after me, they would be looking for a prince and not a princess." Aleks eyes were cast down. "When I first met you, I had to don on the guise of a boy again so I wouldn't be taken hostage by the crew. I never seen a ship's crew before but I heard of stories of what they do to women. But you proved different and I – I eventually fell in love with you."

The girls looked at each other. On the one hand, Deryn was in love with Alek and on the other, she was in love with her alias, Dylan. Alek must still not know Deryn's secret. The British girl figured the phrase 'It takes one to know one' was not true after all.

"If you're not Aleksander, then who are you?" Deryn questioned.

"My name, my real name, is Aleksia." Deryn took a breath in.

"Well this is a bit to take in."

Aleksia looked at her in the eyes. "Sorry if it's too much…"

"No, it's not that." Deryn interrupted. "Barking spiders Aleksia, I'm a girl too."

The princess looked up. "Really?"

"Yes! My name is actually Deryn Sharp. After me da's accident, I just had to fly. So I decided to pull one over the whole barking British air service." She giggled a bit. "Funny thing, I was in love with YOU!" At this they both lost it and began to laugh until their lungs burned. They laughed so hard that they weren't aware of what was behind them until Aleksia toppled backwards and crashed into a piece of wood. Deryn stopped laughing and grabbed the lamp, adjusting its brightness to better illuminate their surroundings. What they saw was dozen of messaging lizards scurrying about, repeating bits of the conversion the girls just had, since their escape from the prison Aleksia just broke.

They soon found the pipes that lead to all over the fabricated air beast and crawled inside. The girls looked at each other as the last one left, both wide eyes. "Crud!" was spoken simultaneously.

* * *

Mr Rigby was busy attending to the other midshipmen, angry that Mr Sharp had left his post for reasons unknown and has yet to return. The middies were to catalogue the ships provisions and equipment. HE was still waiting on the order to end this continuous monotony.

Newkirk came up and spoke to him. "Sir. We have been checking the inventory four two hours now. I can literally tell you them off by heart. We need a break."

Mr Rigby gave a gruff. " Orders are that you should carry on until the captain says otherwise. Not a minute sooner."

"But sir. The men are demoralised and I fear of a mutiny. We need to do something for ten minutes."

"Ten minutes you say, well then, for ten minutes, you can do something as long as it is inside this room!" Mr Rigby bellowed for all to hear.

Just then, at that very moment, a message lizard came crawling out of the pipes. It began to play the message it recorded. " ** _Dylan, I haven't told you all of my secrets. There is one more which Volger swore me to secrecy. No one else other than my companions and you must know about this._** "

"Woah! isn't that his royalness?" Asked one of the other midshipmen.

"Yeah, though why does he sound like a girl?" asked another.

" ** _I'magirl_**!" came the short yet snappy cracker that got their attention. " ** _I am a girl. I wanted to tell you but I was worried that we might not be friends anymore. You, you're a dashing airman and I am a girl. It would feel awkward if you were close to me, knowing my gender_** "

"Well she be right." came Newkirk's voice. He, like all the others, were shocked at this revelation.

" ** _Barking spiders. Why didn't you anyone?_** "

" ** _My father told me to hide my identity should I ever need to go into hiding. That way, if anyone comes after me, they would be looking for a prince and not a princess. When I first met you, I had to don on the guise of a boy again so I wouldn't be taken hostage by the crew. I never seen a ship's crew before but I heard of stories of what they do to women. But you proved different and I – I eventually fell in love with you_**."

Everyone, even Mr Rigby, did a great imitation of a goldfish before one of them shouted out "Come On! She can do much better than Mr Sharp! And what do they teach royalty about us!"

" ** _If you're not Aleksander, then who are you?_** "

" ** _My name, my real name, is Aleksia._** " They could hear Dylan take in a breath.

" ** _Well this is a bit to take in_**."

"I'll say!" exclaimed Newkirk.

" ** _Sorry if it's too much…_** "

" ** _No, it's not that. Barking spiders Aleksia, I'm a girl too_**." If it were possible, half of the crew would hear their jaws drop onto the floor, whilst the other half just looked on with a facial expression only a fabricated beast could pull off.

" ** _Really?_** "

" ** _Yes! My name is actually Deryn Sharp. After me da's accident, I just had to fly. So I decided to pull one over the whole barking British air service. Funny thing, I was in love with YOU!_** "

After this, the men heard laughter, followed by a crash and a chorus "Crud!" before the message ended. The men knew that at that point that the two they just heard hid out in the messaging room, and that the crash signalled that the whole ship must probably know their little secret.

"Wow, sir." Newkirk started. "To think this whole time, we had girls, excluding Dr Barlow, on board this whole time!" The midshipman received no answer. "Sir?"

Turning around to face his superior, he was met with an angry, lava faced man who had steam rising steadily from his ears at the noise of a whistle. The midshipmen covered their ears and braced themselves.

* * *

Volger and Dr Barlow were in the middle of a game, sipping tea all the while, when the messaging lizard arrived. It played the message for a good five minutes, the duration of the conversation between the two girls, before it ended. The two grownups were at first shocked like everyone else but quickly regained their posture and acted nonchalantly toward this.

"Well I must confess that I was completely blind sighted by this news of your majesty being a girl, though I did have my suspicions about _Mr_ Sharp." Stated Dr Barlow.

Volger nodded his head in response. "As did I."

"I imagine this will raise complications in the future when the crew finds out about this deceit."

"Yes." The count replied. "Aleksia's father entrusted me to keep her safe in any way. Though I believe I cannot simply kill the crew and take command of something I know nothing of."

Dr Barlow gave a small smile. "No I don't believe you could. How long do you think until the _Leviathan_ learns about this?"

Suddenly, they heard the shout of Mr Rigby from storage. "WHAT!?"

Count Volger grimaced. "I think they know."

* * *

It was one thing to be yelled by an officer for slacking off. Deryn understood that completely. She herself would be mad if she was in charge and someone wasn't doing their job.

It was an entirely matter to be yelled at for deceiving the Air Service right in front of the entire crew.

"What do you have to say for yourself _Miss_ Sharp?" the word sounded foreign in the bosuns mouth. "You have lied to the Air service, cheated you way into the military and if that wasn't enough you slacked off on duty to tell some royal your secret, who had almost no power to keep you on board!"

Deryn winced. She feared that the day the crew found out that she would be kicked off the ship. And it just so happens it was that day.

The captain gave a sigh. "Miss Sharp, as you know we cannot have a woman amongst the crew. Dr Barlow is our guest so it doesn't matter for her. Unfortunately for you, that is not the case and as such, you will be taken back to England. We shall stop over Madrid in three months, and I recommend using that time to be touring the city. It will the last one you will be visiting with us."

Deryn looked down but was shocked to hear Count Volger speak up for her. "And just why would Miss Sharp not be able to continue her journey with us? As far as I can tell, she is perfectly capable of performing any task as anyone else and what's more, pushed the Ottomans out of the war in a single week, with help of course from the locals and the princess."

"I-It's because- because…" The men who had told Deryn she would no longer serve as midshipman was silenced by this statement until Mr Rigby found his voice again. "Because it is regulations, Count Volger."

"If I am not mistaken, wouldn't regulations also prevent you from using Clanker technology to aid you? If that is the case, then where do you think those engines you have been using for the past few months were manufactured?" Volger allowed himself a grin as the bosun once more made the terrific expression of a goldfish with his mouth opening and closing like one.

With a sigh, the captain said "Very well, Miss Sharp may continue to serve as an acting member of this crew though her position as midshipman will be denounced as penalty for her deceit. I have a low tolerance for it."

Deryn couldn't believe her luck but then something snagged on her mind. "Sir, if I'm not a midshipman, then what role will I be playing on board?"

The captain thought for a moment. "It would stand to make you a cabin boy. However, as her majesty, princess Aleksia, trust you the most, withstanding her company and Dr Barlow, then you shall be given the rank of lieutenant to better protect her. Of course that would mean to give you a cabin, but we have one room spare for additional storage."

Those were attending at this display gawked at Deryns promotion to a higher rank. Never mind that she was a girl, she had just blasted through three ranks!

"What?" Mr Rigby exclaimed. Being a bosun, he was considered as a sub-lieutenant and as such would now have to answer to the girl whom he was just berating.

"Do we have a problem Mr Rigby?" asked the captain.

The man grumbled. "No sir."

"Good. Now before we end this little assembly, is there any more questions?" A few of the crew members raised their hands. "Yes Mr Anderson?"

The midshipman asked. "Your royal highness… What do the – pardon my language – Barking bum rags teach you that made you think that we would hurt anyone?"

Aleksia blinked before replying. "I was raise far from the ocean amongst millions of others. We had to rely on stories from at least 640 kilometres away."

Newkirk raised his hand. "How should we treat you now that we know of your secret?"

The princess thought for a moment. "Well, since I don't have to hide my gender from the crew anymore, I will stop trying to look like a boy and thus, making hiding much more easier. Though outside the _Leviathan_ you will treat me like as though I am a guest aboard your ship and not a princess."

Mr Rigby raised his hand and asked, more like yelled "HOW DID NONE OF THE CREW NOTICE YOU AND LIEUTENANT DERYN SECRET!?"

"Actually, the good count and I had our suspicions but without any evidence, we couldn't simply stroll up and say to Miss Sharp that we knew of her secret.

This caught Deryn by surprise. "Wait, Count Volger are you saying that you bluffed when you said you will reveal my secret back in Constantinople?"

Volger gave a chuckle. "Yes Miss Sharp. I was bluffing."

The captain cleared his throat. "Well then that is enough questions. Everyone back to your duties. Miss Sharp, will you please relocate your belongings to the spare cabin just down the hall?"

As everyone dispersed, Deryn couldn't help but gave a sigh of relief. Looks like life made lemonade for her.


	2. Chapter 2

**You guys thought this was a one shot. You were right. This is just some authors no – PSYCH! I can't believe you thought that it was. NOPE! This is a story. BTW to those who say that this is not possible, its fanfiction deal with it! Now onto the story,**

It has been three months since their secret was spilled, yet there was more pros than cons. Deryn got her own room, got promoted – sort of – and she wasn't kicked off the crew. It took some growing pains to get used to the crewmembers she was once equal with calling her mam. It was worth it, however, to see Mr Rigby get agitated and grind his teeth to oblivion when he has to answer to her.

During those two months, Deryns hair grew out to the point where it was considered girly but still short and a bit spiky. Her regular uniform had been tailored to fit her feminine curves in a formal manner. Her breast, which was an E cup, had been held down by a ton of cloth wrapped around her body for months. She cursed early puberty which caused her this trouble. She was dressed in a brown skirt that went a little higher than the knee so she could have more manoeuvrability than others and a short sleeved shirt that exposed some of her cleavage but not enough so it would still fit in regular military regulations and would also add more manoeuvrability. She had shoes that raised her heels of the ground a little bit but it wasn't high heels. Deryn wondered if some of the crew members were perverts.

Meanwhile, Aleksia had also grown out her hair but it was much longer, in fact it was deemed fit for a princess since it had a natural beauty to it. She, like Deryn, also had an E cup and cursed not only early puberty but also Volger for forcing her to cover up her femininity. Kafkaesque would have been the proper word describe her whole ordeal. ( **AN: No really, it's a real word, look it up.** ) The Austrian Princess was also dressed in the same attire with the exception of it being clanker themed. Since their identities were revealed, they grew closer to each other, gaining an understanding due to their similar situations albeit for different reasons. Life on the _Leviathan_ continued as normal as though nothing had changed. Dr Barlow and Count Volger were still having their afternoon discussions on life between their two cultures, though rumours spread by the crew have been saying otherwise.

Deryn caught sight of Aleksia entering her room and decided to pay a visit. She stepped in and closed it behind her, making her friend turn around in surprise at this sneaky behaviour. No words were said. Instead the two held hands and leaned in, eyes closed, for the kiss.

* * *

Deryn shot awake. It was one in the morning and she had that dream again. It was for the fifth time and she is confused by what it could mean. The two were just two friends that liked each other. After all, she didn't love Aleksia.

So why was she blushing heavily?

* * *

Aleksia couldn't sleep. She just couldn't. Today was the day when she goes out into the world not as the boy prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but as a simple commoner who is tagging along on the _Leviathan_. But she also had another problem. She might be ill. She gets a tightening feeling in her chest, she feels hot headed, literally, and finds it nearly impossible to speak. This has been going on for two months now, whenever she was around Deryn. The girl thought it was just clear coincidence that this was happening like this, but she slowly began to realise that she was in LOVE with Deryn.

So that was how she was here, in the ships galley, making some tea, on the eve of their arrival in Madrid. She was trying to find a sense of calm but was failing extraordinarily and instead was having a panic attack. She couldn't talk to Volger about it. She could just imagine the lecture she would have gotten from him. Dr Barlow was cunning and would most probably get her in trouble as that lady was a bit of a gossip.

She thought of the two conversing; they had begun to be more frequent in their chats, going from one chat every few days to two a day. Rumour spread on the ship that the two were 'courting'. Of course no one had the nerve to say that to their face lest they learn what it would be like to live as a woman for the rest of their lives.

"Miss Sharp?" Bovril mimicked part of the conversation from three months ago.

"Yes." Sighed the princess. "I can't stop thinking about her. She's on my mind and I can't get it out. Volger and Barlow aren't options I'd pick when it comes to advice. Everyone would spread rumours… What do I do?"

A silence formed, as though the beastie was thinking, before Bovril spoke again in a mixture of voices. "Tell her, Princess Aleksia. Tell Miss Sharp."

The girl looked flabbergasted that a beastie, gave a human like answer, which was against the law in Darwinist terms. But the little creature smile in understanding. "I learn quickly. Don't tell Barlow."

* * *

The next day, at 9:45 in the morning, the _Leviathan_ touched down in Madrid. A military escort came to see that the prince be taken safely to the palace of the king of Spain. However they were met with the response from the captain. "He wishes to stay on board for safety measures. One cannot be too careful in a neutral country during a war." Unbeknownst to the soldiers, the 'prince' and his personal bodyguard had left via the rear so they would not be seen.

Aleksia and Deryn toured the city, the perspicacious loris on the formers shoulder. The two managed to see the outskirts of the grand palace, the central plaza of the town centre. But when they got to the shopping district, they were met with a surprise. Walking down an alley as a shortcut, Deryn suddenly found her arm restrained behind her back and cold blade one her neck. She emitted a small yelp of surprise

Aleksia turned around and saw her friend held as a hostage. The attacker snarled in a feminine voice. "Where did you get that beastie? That belongs to my friend."

The princess gave a look of confusion and anger. "Look lady, I don't know who you are but I was there when Borvril hatched and there when he was named."

"What do you mean 'there when he was named'?" The attacker's face could now be seen and Aleksia was shocked to see who it was.

"Lilit?"

The girl snarled again. "How do you know my name?"

Before the girl could reply, Bovril intervened. "Miss Sharp. Princess Alek." This caused a wide eyed result from the mugger.

"You two… were girls?"

Deryn sighed, very lightly as the blade was still against her windpipe. "Believe me, the _Leviathans_ crew were similarly shocked."

The Turkish girl remembered her prisoner and let Deryn go, who rubbed the part of the neck that was under threat. The three of them caught up with what had been happening since the last time they saw each other, Aleksia omitting some of the more personal details like that time she nearly walked into Deryn getting changed.

Lilit, on the other hand, was equally full of surprises. "A civil war?" Asked Deryn.

"Yes. My grandmother was killed in a shelling and so my father brought me here for safety. Sadly he died of Spanish flu and I lived on the streets since." Recounted the girl of her sad tale. The audience looked sympathetic about this and then Aleksia had an idea.

"Why don't you come along with us? I'm sure the captain would allow another girl on board. After all, there is already three." Though she was afraid the captain would say no but decided not to voice that fear.

Suddenly a carriage thundered past them with three horsemen in hot pursuit. What the cavalry failed to notice was that the carriage bounced and sent a girl flying out. The girl, who was a red head and wore a white nightgown, was tied up in thick, coarse rope. The girl was also gagged with a brown rag. Lilit stepped forward and ungagged the girl.

"Gracias." She said with a moderate Spanish accent. When she saw the looks on Deryn and Lilit's faces, she translated. "Thank you. I am Isabella Toronto, Princess of Spain." No sooner did she say those words the tied up princess winced at her mistake. She did not know these people and she was still tied up. However, she untied and told by the girls to follow them.

* * *

"So you're telling me, that she is my old friend Prince Alek, and that she was a girl, on the run from her family's allies, this whole time."

The return to the _Leviathan_ was just as stealthy as when they left but it was hampered slightly by the fact that there was four of them now. After finding some spare clothing, Isabella was clad in a mix of Deryn and Aleksia's clothing, giving her a commoner's look. A further discussion revealed that she was Aleksia's friend when she was still under the guise of a boy. Bovril also revealed his humane sentience but the girls had sworn to secrecy, fearing that Dr Barlow would put the perspicacious loris down since it did not fit the Darwinist law.

"Pretty much." Came the casual reply from Bovril.

The chat dragged on, revealing that the Princess was kidnapped by anti-imperialists who wanted to ensure that the king gives up his throne for his family. Of course, now that she was with Darwinists and Clankers, it did not bode good will for the ship. The girls formulated a plan. They would sabotage the _Leviathan_ , postponing its departure by a few days, which would give them enough time to sneak through the city and to the royal palace, where they shall deliver Princess Isabella back to her father. The plans had holes though, since they didn't know the quickest route to the palace, who was going to stop them, or how long the big aeronautical beastie would stay in Madrid for. If the crew left before they got the princess back, then they would be stuck in the capital of Spain. The simpler solution had them telling the captain but that ran the risk of the anti-imperialists attacking the _Leviathan_ and the both princesses would be held hostage. The only question on their mind, however, was about how they would sabotage the ship.

* * *

Volger and Klopp looked over the engines, the captain and a representative of the crown behind them. The four glanced at the engines, which was covered in some kind of runny, thick substance that clogged the machinery, preventing them from leaving. It would take a few days to repair and replace some of the parts and clean the whole thing out. The ship would be the first to stay in a neutral country for more than 24 hours.

Klopp fumed as these engines had just been check on by himself an hour ago. "Whoever spewed their food on my engines is going to die!"

* * *

Deryn made a vow never to swallow a dish made from different cultures, ever again. She had been fed a plate which had the mixed contents of Hungarian food, Turkish food and Spanish food and the result was her vomiting all over the engines. They were in phase 2 of the plan: get through the city and to the palace. It would have been a great plan, except it was night and there was nothing, not even moonlight, to guide them through the city. They had an idea of where they are, which was in the central plaza, but they didn't know which direction the palace was in.

"We need to get some light." Said Lilit.

"Won't that look suspicious?" Questioned Deryn.

The two whisper-argued until Bovril told them something alarming. "I can see in the dark."

Four pairs of female eyes glared at him before they got led the way by the loris. They advanced a couple of streets before a gunshot ran out struck the wall, just an inch from Deryn's head. The group of girls ran as the street was lit up by streaks of glowing metal zinging past them from all directions. One of them found its mark as it buried itself into Deryn's upper thigh. The girl gasped and fell, only to be caught by Aleksia who carried her bridal style. Despite the circumstances, the two of them blushed at this matrimony style – somewhat cute – form of running as they dashed away from the men; who could have been regular thugs or the anti-imperialists. After finding shelter in an abandoned house, they realised that they were just outside of the Grand palace. The journey wasn't so long but they needed to take the extra measures. Though looking back, the engines was probably not a good idea as Klopp was very fond of them.

They examined the wound but couldn't properly work on it until they got to the palace. The palace walls were easy to climb, but as soon as they landed, they were swarmed by guards who aimed rifles at them, each with a resolute stare. A minute passed, five minutes then ten before the king himself appeared, his personal, and equally annoyed, guard trailing behind him; two or three were even half asleep. At sight of his daughter, the king ran forward bellowing "At ease! At ease!" and pushed his way to his daughter and a moment was shared when they hugged, tears running down their faces. At this point. It was evident that the last thing that would be running for that day, would be those salty droplets.

* * *

The captain was upset. In one day, he got a report the engines would offline for two days at most, found out that one of his crew members got shot, and to top it all off he now has another girl on board for whatever misadventure they will get into.

The captain, and some of the lieutenants, minus Deryn who was in the infirmary, did the most rational thing any man would do in these circumstances: They got drunk.


End file.
